Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the public bodies under the control of his Department; their function, role, location and establishment date; the administration costs of each body in the year 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20468/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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There are four bodies under the aegis of my Department, namely the Advisory Board of Irish Aid (ABIA), the Development Education Advisory Committee (DEAC), the Ireland — United States Commission for Educational Exchange (the Fulbright Commission) and the Díon Committee.

The Advisory Board for Irish Aid is an independent body which works closely with the Government's Official Development Assistance programme, Irish Aid, in order to maximise the quality, effectiveness and accountability of the Programme. The main functions of the Board are: to oversee and provide advice to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the responsible Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and senior Irish Aid management on the strategic direction of the Irish Aid Programme; to commission and support research relevant to the Irish Aid policy agenda; to oversee specific and general evaluations of Irish Aid programmes and projects; to organise and manage the Development Forum (which brings together the Minister of State, senior Irish Aid officials, non governmental organisations (NGOS) and missionary organisations for strategic dialogue on development issues. The seventh Development Forum was held on 23 May, 2006); to monitor the overall funding and staffing needs of the Irish Aid programme.

The Advisory Board was established in August, 2002 and is located within the offices of Irish Aid at Bishop's Square, Redmond's Hill, Dublin 2. The administration costs for the Board in 2005 were €31,107.

The function of the Development Education Advisory Committee (DEAC) is to offer policy advice to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the responsible Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid on development education and on ways of increasing knowledge and understanding of development issues in Ireland. This includes: providing advice to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the responsible Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid on policy matters and on strategies for promotion of development education; overseeing reviews and evaluation of development education activities; and managing an annual consultation forum on development education.

DEAC was established in 2003 on the recommendation of the Ireland Aid Review Committee. The current Committee, consisting of 16 members, was appointed by the Minister for a two year period in 2005. The Committee meets three times a year at the offices of Irish Aid in Bishop's Square, Redmond's Hill, Dublin 2. The only administration cost arising in 2005 related to a payment of €795 for catering costs of the consultation forum on development education.

The role and function of the Ireland-United States Commission for Educational Exchange (Fulbright Commission) is to finance study, research, teaching and other educational activities between Ireland and the United States of America. It is the only official educational programme between the Governments of Ireland and the United States of America. Under the Programme, awards are made annually, through open competition, to post-graduate students and post-doctoral scholars and to established leaders of professional, academic and artistic excellence who are recognised in their fields.

The Fulbright Commission is a statutory body established under the Educational Exchange (Ireland and the United States of America) Act, 1991. The Board of the Commission comprises eight members: four members from Ireland and four from the US, appointed respectively by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the US Ambassador to Ireland. The office of the Fulbright Commission is located at Brooklawn House, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

In 2005, the Department of Foreign Affairs made a grant-in-aid of €254,000 to the Commission. Support from the US Government in the same year amounted to €276,640. According to Commission's Financial Statements for the financial year 2005, which were approved by the Comptroller and Auditor General and laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas, the Commission's administration costs for this period amounted to €76,737.

The Díon Committee was established in 1984 and is based in the Embassy of Ireland in London. It advises the Minister for Foreign Affairs on applications for funding from organisations that support our emigrants in Britain, as well as on issues of interest and concern to the Irish community. Administration expenses relating to the Committee in 2005 amounted to €6,441.